Welcome Home
by SpaghettiWarlord
Summary: [COLLAB] After freeing the monsters, Frisk lived with her new family for the rest of her childhood. How will she react coming home after two years at college? [Collab with joytotheworld123, not related to my other story. Fem!Frisk]


The train rumbled along the worn rails, jostling the small suitcase on Frisk's lap as the world blurred outside the foggy window. The middle-aged woman sitting next to Frisk on the padded booth bench had fallen asleep mere minutes into the four hour ride, leaving Frisk contentedly silent as she gazed out the glass. She wondered what her friends would be like after the two years she'd been gone.

She assumed Toriel, the kind goat-like monster who'd taken her in for a while after she'd broken the Barrier, wouldn't have changed much. Her 'Momster' didn't seem like the type to leave her love of snails, baking, and mothering for any different hobbies, and Frisk smiled a bit to herself as she thought of the puns Toriel and Sans would no doubt have in store for her visit.

Dunkle Sans might've changed. Even just on her few day journey through the Underground, Sans' personality had been hard to get a grasp of. There was no way he wouldn't be the same prankster skeleton as always, but maybe some of his interests had shifted with the opportunities the Surface could offer.

Really, Frisk knew all of her friends would've changed in some ways in the time she'd been living on her own in a different city after leaving Toriel's home to. It would be too unrealistic for them to all be the same from her time living with them from when she'd emerged from Mt Ebott as a short eleven-year-old to when she left as a slightly taller eighteen-year-old. They'd changed in those seven years, and they would've changed again in the two years she had spent in college.

It took Frisk a few moments to realize the train had stopped, the name of the current station blaring in neon letters over the cabin doorway: "EBOTT STATION". Frisk's stop. Letting out a whoosh of hot air between her teeth, Frisk stood from her seated position, the pins and needles in her legs slowly subsiding. Her suitcase was light enough for her to carry, so she didn't bother lengthening the handle to drag it behind her as she made her way off the train.

Frisk lifted a hand over her eyes as her chocolate brown irides adjusted to the golden sunlight, characteristic of Ebott. Blinking a few times, Frisk stepped down the tall steps to the sidewalk below, her bag thumping against the side of her knee as it swung with every step. It only took her a few seconds before she spotted the group of sign-waving monsters she'd come to think of as her family.

Undyne was waving a handmade sign so enthusiastically Frisk couldn't make out the words written on the front, the blue aquatic monster bouncing up and down as her golden eye took in Frisk gleefully. "PUNK!" she hollered, gesturing excitedly for Frisk to hurry up. The only thing holding Undyne back from running up and giving Frisk one of her powerful noogies was Alphys's small yellow scaled hand grasping her elbow firmly.

No such hand held the great Papyrus back, however, and Frisk was swept into a rib crushing bearhug only seconds after she'd stepped onto the sidewalk. "HUMAN! WE'VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH! I'VE MADE CELEBRATION SPAGHETTI FOR YOUR ARRIVAL!" the tall, ever-boisterous skeleton exclaimed.

"I've missed you too, Papyrus! Can't wait to eat your spaghetti again," Frisk said, forcing back a grimace at the thought of more of the noodles she'd happily escaped when she'd gone to college. Maybe Papyrus had gotten better…?

"My child! Oh, I am so happy to see you," said Toriel, stepping up beside Papyrus and pulling Frisk into a gentle hug, the embrace welcomed by Frisk as the human sighed happily into Toriel's warm white fur. Her Momster's hugs were the best, and always had been, from the first time she'd been hugged all the way back at the exit of the Ruins.

She pulled away just for a moment, her eyes flitting over Toriel's facial features, and was happy to realize she hadn't changed much. She was still the loving goat mom that she had lived with for most of her childhood. She felt such an overwhelming love to be back that she was about to wrap her arms around her mother again when Undyne broke free from her girlfriend's grasp.

"C'mere punk!" Undyne shouted, lunging forward and with a strong arm around her neck, though Frisk knew Undyne would be careful not to hurt her, and rustled her hair around with her knuckles. While Frisk was struggling to break free from Undyne's affectionate noogie, Alphys waddled over, arms outstretched to wrap around Frisk's waist.

"I-It's so great to-to see you again, Frisk!" Alphys said as she pressed her body into Frisk's. Undyne had finally let go, allowing Frisk a moment to flatten down her now unruly hair and bend down to give Alphys a hug.

"And it's so great to be back!" said Frisk as Alphys stepped back, letting Frisk look around for the last two monsters on her mental list of family members. Sans and Asgore. Her eyes locked with the short, lazy skeleton's almost instantly, and smiled when she saw the grin on his face get significantly wider and more genuine once she noticed him standing there.

"heyyyy short stuff."

"I'm not the short one anymore." Frisk grinned cheekily and bent down to hug her dunkle. Her eyes shot open in surprise when she heard harmonious rubber-chicken-squeak sounds exploding from his chest. She stumbled backwards, clutching her hand to her heart while Sans collapsed to the ground with the most laughter she'd heard in years.

"her- her face!"

"SANS! WHY MUST YOU SCARE THE HUMAN OUT OF HER WITS THE MOMENT SHE RETURNS?" Papyrus scolded, walking over to Frisk and wrapping a protective arm around her shoulders. Sans didn't react in the slightest, his laughing managing to pull Toriel into the chuckle fest as well. She covered her smile with her hand, her body heaving with held back laughter.

"It's okay, Papy" Frisk said once she had calmed her nerves. "It honestly was pretty funny."

Papyrus brought his fingers up to the bridge of his nose, "YOU ALL ARE TERRIBLE!"

"aw come on, pap. you gotta admit, it was pretty SQUEAKING funny!" spurted out Sans before belting out laughter again.

A hearty chuckle came from behind the currently indisposed Sans, the towering form of Asgore moving around the skeleton as he approached Frisk with a fondness in his heterochromatic eyes. "It is wonderful to see you again, young one." The King of Monsters pulled Frisk into a gentle hug, her head just tucked under his blond-bearded chin.

Frisk smiled into his floral-patterned shirt. "It's great to see you too, Dad," she said, hugging him back. Dad hugs were super nice too.

"OH MY GOD, SANS, GET UP!" barked Papyrus, breaking into the moment with the recognizable sound of his boot stamping on the ground in exasperation. Sans's protests were muttered under the shorter skeleton's breath as his little brother hoisted him up from his laughter induced heap on the ground, much to Frisk's amusement.

His hands shoved in his pockets, Sans ducked under Papyrus's attempts to brush the dust off his hoodie and ambled over to Frisk, his skull not quite to her shoulder as he grinned up at her. "amazing pranks aside, wanna get going? s'been awhile since you've seen the house."

"SANS!" squawked Papyrus.

"what?"

"SHUSH!"

"oh, yeah," Sans said with a wink.

A confused look at Asgore only provoked a sheepish smile and shrug, the impressive goat-like monster stepping back from Frisk as if to escape her suspicious glance. The monsters were planning something, weren't they. It wasn't even a question; the monsters weren't the best at keeping secrets. A quick scan of Alphys and Undyne only proved it as Alphys immediately grinned and looked away, flushing pink, and Undyne's toothy beam became quite obviously forced as Frisk squinted at her. "Guys," said Frisk. "You're terrible at this."

Toriel stepped up to Frisk, taking her shoulders gently and leading her away from the station. "W-what do you mean, my child? Terrible at what?"

Frisk didn't miss the pointed look her mom shot at Papyrus, who abruptly saluted, picked up Sans, and began sprinting towards a red sports car that stuck out in the rows of parked cars like a sore thumb. Yes, they were up to something.

"So, my child, do you still like pie?" continued Toriel, pushing Frisk towards a red minivan that Frisk didn't remember her ever having. Must've been new. Undyne and Alphys had gone off to a sleek black car beside the blue pickup truck Asgore was starting up.

"Of course!" exclaimed Frisk, surprised her mother even had to ask. Toriel's pies would always have a special place in her heart. Really, that first butterscotch-cinnamon pie had been enough to win Frisk over. She'd kept it safe in a bag in her pocket the whole trip, wanting to savour the delicious pastry.

Toriel sighed in relief as Frisk frowned slightly. Maybe her family had been wondering about her changes just as much as she had wondered about theirs. "Wonderful," Toriel said. "We can have some when we get back to the house, ok?"

The memory of perfectly browned crust and mouth watering filling faded into Frisk's mind, the blissful scent of warm pie floating in front of her even if she would have to suffer the car ride before she could taste the real thing. They could have their 'surprise'; Frisk was going to have pie.

Frisk sat in the passenger seat of Toriel's minivan, leaning her head out of the open window like she used to as a child. The buildings and houses that lined the streets of the suburbs where she used to live rushed by, giving her a calming feeling of nostalgia. The wind swept her hair back, leaving it wild once she returned to her place in the seat. Toriel chuckled slightly in the driver's seat, a reminiscent smile dawning on her face.

"Oop-!" Toriel exclaimed after she had squinted ahead at the house in the distance. "Close your eyes, my child!"

Frisk stifled a laugh as Toriel hurriedly tried to cover up the reason why she had asked her to do so, and closed her eyes. Her heart fluttered at the thought of her sweet family and what they might have planned for her.

The car slowed to a stop and Toriel clapped her hands together excitedly. Frisk turned her head every which way curiously when she noticed the driver's side door had opened.

"Wait there!" Toriel said. Frisk could hear the chatter of her monster family outside before the door slammed shut and the door on her side opened. A furry hand took Frisk's and helped her from the car, along with another covering her eyes. Frisk could feel the hard concrete of the driveway from beneath her feet as her mother lead her up to what she thought was the front door. The chatter she heard earlier came to an abrupt stop with a harsh shush from Papyrus as she neared them.

Toriel stopped behind her, and Frisk could almost feel the childish excitement radiating from her companions.

"CAN I?" a rather obnoxious whisper sounded from ahead of her. There was a pause before Papyrus's boisterous voice filled the air.

"WELCOME HOME, FRISK!"

Frisk opened her eyes to behold her skeleton friend holding up a "Welcome Home" sign painted on messily in all caps with stars and polka dots splashed on the borders. She looked up in child-like awe at the streamers decorating the outside of the house. Clumps of colourful balloons were tied to weighted bases around the walls. Frisk could see that her family had worked hard to make her first time home in two years memorable.

"I- thank you! Oh my gosh, you guys, I can't even-" said Frisk, gazing around at the accessorized room as a few hot tears welled at the rim of her eyes. Even with all of the glitter and streamers, this was unmistakably Toriel's house, the house Frisk had spent seven years of her life in. "Oh w-wow…"

Frisk turned around, taking in the familiar, though adorned, surroundings. Papyrus stepped forwards beside her, looking down at her with a concerned expression. "HUMAN? ARE YOU… DO YOU LIKE IT?"

"Of COURSE she likes it!" said Undyne, putting a blue arm around Papyrus's shoulders. Frisk couldn't help but notice he was still wearing that battle body of his. She could only hope it was a new one. Nine years was a long time to wear a costume… "Don't you?"

Alphys moved up to Frisk, putting a clawed hand on her elbow. "Are y-y-you ok, F-Frisk?" she said, giving Undyne a look that made the taller monster back off a few steps.

"My child? I have your pie! Do you want to come… oh my."

That was the last straw for Frisk. A choked sob escaped her as Toriel entered the room, carrying a pie with butterscotch cinnamon scent wafting around Frisk, encasing her in memories from her first journey to her painful day leaving to pursue other things in life. She didn't realize she'd started crying until Toriel was holding her, the pie stuffed into Undyne's hands.

"Shh, it's ok, I'm here," Toriel whispered into Frisk's hair. "What's wrong, my child?"

"I j-just missed you all s-so m-m-much," croaked Frisk in between sobs. "A-and…"

Frisk could feel Toriel's smile against her head as she was rocked back and forth like Toriel always used to when she'd have a nightmare. "We missed you too, Frisk."

Frisk couldn't stop another hiccuping cry as she felt the arms of Papyrus wrap around her, followed soon by those of Alphys. She heard a muttered curse behind her closed eyes as Undyne clumsily, by the bangs, put the pie down somewhere before hugging Frisk beside Alphys. It wasn't long before Sans's bony arms joined the Friskrito, and moments after the soft fur on Asgore's arms caused Frisk to sneeze. A hearty chuckle came in response, and the monster family stood in a calming embrace for a while. Frisk's shaky breaths steadied, and a smile slowly but surely danced across her cheeks.

She was home.


End file.
